Depart and return to Athens every Saturday
The beauty of learning to sail is that it doesn’t feel like learning! With the sun on your face, the breeze in your hair, and the sound of your friends and the crew in the background, there is only one word to describe learning to sail: fun.
At Get Away Sailing, we’ve taken that fun and added a new dimension – by making the gorgeous Saronic Islands our classroom. Under our supervision, you will navigate your way around pine forests and through picturesque harbours – with time to explore and relax, too.
From absolute beginners who just want to learn the ropes to become competent onboard to others looking for more practical boat handling tuition before flotilla or bareboat charter to captain your own yacht with confidence, a sailing course with Get Away Sailing combines expert theory and practical tuition in Greek waters.
And the best bit of all? You will be having such a good time that it won’t even feel like learning.
Six days – and you’ll know what needs doing and why
In just six days, you will start to feel competent on board, know what needs doing and why – and if you’re a fast learner, you will even start to learn the art of skippering.
Each day comprises of a combination of theory and practical exercises. We combine the basics, such as map-reading, navigating, casting off, anchoring and mooring with some of the more advanced sailing skills – but your learning won’t stop there. Tony and the team are world-class storytellers, and you will be surprised at what you learn just from constantly being around them.
This is the life…
Every day in Greece brings a new harbour and new experiences, but we won’t let you lose sight of your goal – to learn to sail. That said, our ‘teaching schedule’ really is something else…
- After breakfast, your first exercise will be planning the day’s sailing. You’ll learn how to take everything into consideration here, including the weather, the sea conditions, and the crew and passengers themselves. You’ll also learn how to plot a course, calculate distances, and estimate sailing time. This may sound like a lot to learn, but don’t worry about picking it up – you’ll be doing this every day!
- We normally set sail around 10am, and it’s time for you to take the helm under motor and sail
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as you learn the practical art of boat handling. With Athens behind us, you’ll also learn first-hand the ‘rules of the road’ as we give way to other vessels.
- Sailing is hungry work, and you’ll be ready for a good meal by lunchtime! We always pick a bay so you’ll also have time for a swim. Entering the bay we’ll discuss mooring: how and where to drop anchor, appropriate distances from other yachts... and you guessed it, you’ll be doing this every day as well.
- A couple of hours later and it’s back to those practical skills you worked on in the morning, along with any theory and coaching.
- By the afternoon, we’re well and truly close to our days’ destination – the traditional fishing village or port we plotted a course to earlier in the day.
- Now this is where you’ll really see teamwork – making ready the yacht with fenders, mooring lines, anchor and yourselves before entering the harbour. Stern-to mooring (reverse parking) is the name of the game here! And then we’re settled for the evening.
- Once secured, anyone fancy a quick swim before dinner? There’s always time to relax for those who want to, although you may want to take advantage of the great weather and become more familiar with what’s onboard. Then you’re faced with the decision of where to spend your evening. Tony and the team are always delighted to introduce you to one of the family-run tavernas otherwise feel free to do your own thing.
- After six days of repetition, being familiar with the yacht and what needs doing on board will seem like a breeze! You might even be ready to take your newly-learned skills to the next stage.
Yacht options
All of our yachts are modern, comfortable and maintained to the highest standards. With a maximum number of seven students per yacht, we’ll help you choose the boat best suited to the size of your party - 2, 3 or 4 cabin yachts.
You’re never too old – or too young – to learn
If we could teach the whole world to sail, we would do! Sailing is fun and safe – and once you’ve learned, you never forget. We’ve taught students aged from seven up to seventy, although there really isn’t an upper age limit. As long as you’re reasonably fit and willing to learn, you’re welcome.
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